DOROTHEA'S EYES

This brief, illustrated biography explores how the life of pioneering photojournalist Dorothea Lange influenced her art.

Although the oil-pastel depictions of human bodies are at times distractingly awkward, the mostly autumnal palette complements the text as it teaches about its subject’s (called Dorothea throughout) difficulties: polio, poverty, paternal desertion, and eventually, a family opposed to her “unladylike” choice of profession. After an excellent red-and-black spread depicting Dorothea’s darkroom, the returning tawny colors work equally well to conjure the Great Depression. Throughout, boldly red-inked sentences suggest what apparently drove Dorothea from her lucrative, private portrait practice to become the sole woman on FDR’s team of documentary photographers: “Dorothea sees with her eyes and her heart,” and “Her heart knows all about people the world ignores.” Interestingly, the text introduces the idea of “invisibility” as a photographer’s asset. It also stresses Dorothea’s perseverance despite her “forever-withered leg” and makes a clear, egalitarian stand about her subjects: “They are good people in real trouble.” Backmatter reproductions of Lange’s photographs greatly enhance the story. 

An excellent beginner’s resource for biography, U.S. history, and women’s studies.